The present invention generally relates to a foot-operated control device for a parking brake of a vehicle, and more particularly to a control device which is manipulated solely by foot by the vehicle operator to release the parking brake being applied to the vehicle.
Most control devices known in the art for a parking brake are of the type which is manipulated by hand to release the parking brake which has been placed in its operated position. This type of control device has some recognized drawbacks: that it is difficult to release the brake because the operator has to lean forward; that it is hard to start the vehicle on a slope because the brake is released abruptly; and that the parking brake pedal generates sounds of impact when its return movement for releasing the brake is blocked by a stop at the original position. Although these drawbacks may be overcome if the manipulation of the control device for releasing the brake is conducted not by hand but only by foot, this type of brake releasing arrangement suffers a different drawback that the parking brake pedal may possibly be operated by foot of the operator inadvertently or carelessly with a result of releasing the brake unintentionally while the operator is boarding or leaving the vehicle. Thus, the foot-operated control device has been required to obviate the above drawback.
Known as a solution to the above problem, is a device disclosed in JITSU-KAI-SHO 55-146363, publication of Japanese Utility Model application for public inspection, wherein a parking brake held in its operated position is released only when both pivotal movement and depressing action of a pedal pad pivotally connected to the end of a parking brake pedal are carried out. The parking brake release mechanism as shown in the above publication is applicable only to control devices of the type in which the parking brake pedal is locked in its operated position by a pawl member pivotally connected to the pedal such that the pawl member engages ratchet teeth of a bracket which pivotally supports the pedal. However, there are control devices of different type wherein the pawl member is pivotally supported on the bracket and the mating ratchet teeth are formed on the parking brake pedal. These control devices are also required to be manipulated solely by foot without use of hands and have means for preventing an unintentional release of the brake due to inadvertent contact of the vehicle operator with the parking brake pedal. For satisfying such requirement, however, it is impossible to use the arrangement of the mechanism disclosed in the said publication. In the latter type of control devices, a pedal pad designed as a brake releasing member is disposed on the parking brake pedal while the pawl member which is disengaged by the action of the pedal pad is connected to the bracket by which is pivotally supported the parking brake pedal. This construction does not apply to the mechanism of the disclosure in the above publication wherein the pedal pad and the pawl member are both connected to the parking brake pedal.